New India’s People

Year Published: 1952

Creator: Time Inc.

Complete Record: Following an eighteen-month stay in India, Peter Hopkinson, a March of Time cameraman, reports on the people, economic conditions and political life of the country today. Notes that while changes in India's government were quite drastic, the lives of the people have changed little. Compares the life of a maharaja with that of an untouchable. Demonstrates how the Parsies, such as the Tata family, have established industries and have become a powerful influence in India. Examines the importance of the film industry, religion and education to the culture of India. Life in India following independence. Maharaja scenes of processions and palaces. Without any political power, yet still living in luxury. Big game hunters and sport players. Untouchables, Indians without caste at the bottom of the social order. Portrait of a family. Living in huts, with few possession. New constitution outlaws “untouchables.” Child goes to school, mother cooks simple food. Make money by basket weaving, a common life for “untouchables.” Parsies from Indian merchants, created modern business/industrial life. Scenes of factories. Trade with United States. Steel, iron. Film production. Horse racing. Spirituality. Religious duty. Religious man studies, strict diet. Hinduism tied with caste system. Religious ceremony. Modern man, intellectual, political, forward thinking. A portrait of contemporary Indian society. The Indian spokesman at the United Nations, with Sir Anthony Eden. Interview with Peter Hopkinson, March of Time cameraman, about India. The lifestyle of the Maharajas. The Maharaja of Jaipur, Sir Sawai Man Singh Bahadur, is used as an example. Footage of the lavish lifestyle, relatives, polo playing, airplanes and cars. These scenes are contrasted with the the lifestyle of a poor family of untouchables near Madras - domestic scenes, basket making, schooling, religion. The `new industrialists' - the Tata family and the Parsees of India. The Indian film industry - on the set of a feature film. Rich Parsees at races and relaxing. The life of a religious Brahmin. Religious ceremonial observance. Young Brahmins - a Calcutta family living a European lifestyle.